Date: Wed, 29 Jun 1994 23:47:14 -0700 (PDT)
From: Richard Isaac
from the _Seattle Times_, Juen 29, 1994, page ONE:
w/o permission, all typos and brackets mien:
ANTI-GAY-RIGHTS MEASURES FALTER, BUT 608 HAS NEW PITCH
by Mark Matassa, Seattle Times staff reporter
Fearing their campaign to restrict gay rights may never make the ballot,
sponsors of Initiative 608 are making a last-minute, two-part push to
fill petitions:
They have begun to pay people to collect signatures, in apparent
violation of a law that isn't being enforced, and they are opening a
newspaper advertising pitch tomorrow.
Until now, both supporters and opponents have assumed that the volatility
of the gay-rights issue and the supposed determination of the
conservative Christian political network would combine to ensure 608 --
and perhaps a similar measure, Initiative 610 -- a place on the November
ballot.
The two initiatives would deny minority status or civil-rights
protections to gays.
So far, the sponsors' strategy has been to use volunteer signature
gatherers. The change in petition strategy is a tacit acknowledgment,
campaign organizers said yesterday, that the 608 drive hasn't been
visible enough, even for supporters.
Initiative 610, backed by Oregon activist Lon Mabon, has been more highly
publicized.
But its backers have acknowledged difficulty in gathering signatures, and
of the two, 608 is believed to have the better chance of qualifying.
Doug Burman, director of the Washington Public Affairs Council and a
coordinator of the 608 campaign, said self-described "bigot busters"
deployed by initiative opponents have intimidated some people from
signings petitions and have discouraged some volunteers from venturing
into public with their clipboards.
He said it is still possible for supporters to collect the necessary
181,000 [sic] valid voter signatures for 608 by the July 8 deadline. He
hopes the offer to pay people 30 cents per signature will bring a few
more in, as well as encourage volunteers to submit signatures they've
already collected. In addition, the group will begin running full-page
newspaper ads tomorrow in Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane and other cities, at a
total cost of about $20,000, Burman said. The ads will include the text
of the initiative and can be used as signature petitions.
David Brine, spokesman for Secretary of State Ralph Munro, said it is
legal in Washington to pay signature gatherers, but only if they are paid
an hourly rate or salary. It is not legal, he said, to pay workers
according to the number of signatures they gather.
However, that 1993 statute has been challenged by LIMIT, a Tacoma-based
group that is paying, by th signature, to fill petitions for a measure to
license denturistst. A decision is expected soon on that case from US
District Judge Barbara Rothstein.
Sherry Bockwinkel of LIMIT said the statute has not been enforced while
the case is pending. LIMIT pays most workers 40 to 60 cents per
signature, she said.
* Richard Isaac
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